Clinical factors associated to multidrug-resistant bacteria

Factores clínicos asociados con multirresistencia bacteriana

Introduction: in hospital settings, infection by multidrug -resistant bacteria apart from limiting antibiotic therapy success is associated with high care costs and high mortality rates. Some microorganisms have been prioritized as posing a threat to public health due to their multidrug resistance.  Objective: to establish the association of clinical factors with multidrug-resistant bacteria isolation in in-patients of a hospital in Cartagena, Colombia.  Materials and methods: a retrospective case control study, with a projected sample of 210 cases and 210 controls, in which bi and multivariate analyses were performed using the binary logistic regression method. Results: a higher risk of infections by multidrug-resistant bacteria was evidenced in hospitalized patients who had undergone surgery (OR: 1.58 95% CI: 1.08-2.49), received antibiotic therapy before blood culture collection (OR: 2.16 95% CI: 1.41-3.32), aged 18 to 32 years (OR: 1.72 95% CI: 1.05-2.83), had anemia (OR: 2.32 95% CI: 1.38-3.89) and blood culture and/or retro culture positivity for bacterial isolates (OR: 1.76 CI 95%: 1.06-2.91), featuring data contrasting with that reported in other local, national and international researches. Discussion: our results are comparable with national and international results. Conclusion: Young adult patients, in the hospitalization ward and ICU, with a clinical history of surgery and previous antibiotic therapy, anemia and blood culture positivity, show a strong association with a higher risk of infection by multidrug-resistant bacteria.